Side Effects
by SmallRozfan
Summary: Lois and Clark are experiencing some weird physical problems. One-shot future fic. Light hearted and fun.


**Side Effects**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing to do with Smallville, Superman, DC comics, the characters used in this fic, the music used, etc. Please don't sue a die-hard Superman fan! This story is strictly for fun.

**Author:** SmallRozfan aka Beth

**Rating:** PG (maybe PG13 for mild sexual innuendo but really not much at all)

**Pairing: **CLois ('cause that's all I write really lol)

**Summary:** This is just a one-shot that popped into my head and would not go away. This is a future fic that's supposed to be light-hearted and fun. Most of you will figure out what's going on long before our characters will, but hopefully you'll enjoy the ride anyway. I know that's not much of a summary but since it's a one-shot, a longer summary would be pointless. Lol

**A/N:** I know I have two other fics that have been sitting on the shelf but I've been in school as well as working 2 jobs and taking care of family matters. One of the classes I've been taking is ENGL 1102 and it's been forcing me to write lit analysis papers. I took the final exam Tuesday (yet another essay) and to celebrate, I've decided to write something I actually want to write. I hope that I can keep the writing streak going by updating the other fics soon.

~CK/LL~

Lois Lane stepped onto the curb in front of the salon and spa, paid the cabbie and straightened her blouse. She pushed on the door handle and the door flew open and slammed against the wall. Stopping mid-stride, Lois cringed slightly and cleared her throat in embarrassment. She smiled apologetically at everyone staring in her direction.

"Sorry! Apparently either that door was lighter than I thought it would be, or I don't know my own strength," she declared, spreading her hands, palms up.

Armand sailed forward, snapping everyone else back to attention. "Lois, dahling! How _is_ our city's star reporter? I haven't seen you in absolutely _ages_!" Armand waved his hands as he and Lois exchanged air kisses.

Sighing as Lois let the stress fall off of her, she apologized again, "I know, Armand. I've just been so busy, and I'm afraid my hair is paying the price for it."

Armand had been doing her hair since their paths crossed while she was investigating a story a couple of years ago. He was a hair genius, always listened to what she wanted, even when she wasn't sure what that was herself, and was an awesome source for stories involving the who's-who of the city. She wasn't here for news today, however, and her time was limited.

"With as long as it's been, Kristen must have mixed something up on the schedule. We have you down for a style only. You are long overdue for a cut, dearie," he said, patting the seat of his styling chair.

Lois dropped into the chair and sighed again. "It's not a mistake. I have an engagement tonight and don't have time for the full treatment. But I swear I'll make an appointment soon to place my hair in your more than capable hands."

Armand tut-tutted her. "Lois, you know the longer you wait, the…" he broke off and gasped as he realized what her "engagement" must be. "Oh, darling! Never say you are attending the Wayne-Queen ball tonight!" One look at Lois' face in the mirror and the hair-dresser squealed and clapped his hands together in delight. "Oh, you are one lucky duck! Simply _everyone_ has been talking about this gala for weeks now! Getting an invitation to this event has been harder than getting in to meet the President."

Shrugging, Lois smiled. "Well, it helps to be one of the only reporters that Bruce Wayne and Oliver Queen like and trust."

Armand grinned slyly but lowered his voice. "And it can't hurt to have dated Mr. Queen either, I'm sure. The gossip columns all state that you two are still cozy. Are you his date tonight?"

It had been decided long ago that relationships among members of the Justice League needed to be kept from the public eye as best as possible; if not non-existent, then definitely downplayed. Very few people knew the truth that one of the world's "most eligible bachelors" was actually married to Chloe Sullivan, the cousin of Lois Lane.

Lois smiled her most winning smile. "No, Armand, I'm afraid I'm not the fortunate arm candy who will be dangling at Oliver Queen's side tonight. I'll be stuck with my partner from the _Planet_, Clark." Before Armand could say anything to that, she turned her smile to a pleading one. "I don't want to be disagreeable, but I'm supposed to meet my 'plus one' at 7:30, and I still have to get my nails done and do my make-up, not to mention get dressed and it's almost 4:00 now. Can we talk while you work your magic?" When the hair-dresser hesitated, she added a pout and turned on the sad eyes. "Please, Armand. I'm in desperate need of your help."

He chuckled and began pulling the couple of pins that Lois had shoved into her hasty up-do. "There's no need for flattery, darling. I know that you appreciate me, and…" he trailed off as Lois' hair fell towards the ground. "My, my! I hadn't realized it had been so long since your last hair cut! I thought you were here last about six weeks ago, but my memory must be playing tricks on me."

"Why do you say that?" Lois asked, glancing over her shoulder. When she saw what Armand was talking about, her jaw dropped.

"Because, Lois dear, there is no way your hair has grown that quickly in six weeks," Armand said matter-of-factly, his hands gliding through the thick strands of her dark hair. "I see we're going to have to start calling you 'Rapunzel'."

Lois' mind raced. How was this possible? There must be an explanation. When she pinned her hair up hastily this morning, it had reached to her mid-back. Now, even with her sitting down, she knew it had to fall to the top of her butt. How in the heck had it grown a foot in less than 12 hours? Her razor sharp mind that usually provided multiple theories when she was working through a mystery for a story was coming up blank on this one.

Realizing where she was, Lois snapped her mouth shut and tried to focus on the here and now. Lois tossed her hair and laughed. "Guess we're both bad judges of time. You know maybe you should go ahead and just cut off a few inches before you style it for tonight. I'll make an appointment for next week and you can do the works on it. For now…"

Snapping into work mode, Armand straightened his posture and nodded. "I know, I know. Meeting the delightful Mr. Kent at 7:30. It's always deadlines with you. Well, if you want me to be done quickly I can't do my best work…so we'll 'cut off a few inches', as you put it, and we'll do a lovely up-do for tonight and you can come back tomorrow. Since you are one of my favorite clients and your locks are most definitely in dire straits, I will come in at an ungodly early hour and meet you here before you have to be at the _Planet_. So, how much do you want taken off?"

"And _that_, Armand, is why I love you. Let's take off about 12 inches or so. I don't want it any longer than about the middle of my back. It gets to be too much trouble to take care of if it gets too long," Lois answered.

Once given the green light, Armand leapt into action…well, maybe "glided into action" might be a more apt description. He snapped his fingers, and someone began to raise the chair Lois was sitting in while he reached into a drawer in front of her and pulled out his shears and a comb. "I will leave a little wiggle room which we will fix tomorrow. I simply _cannot_ allow one of _my_ clients to be left half done."

He held out his left hand and someone placed a bottle of water in it. After spritzing down the ends of her hair, he gently combed out the last third of it until the comb glided smoothly through the wet locks. His eyes narrowed in concentration as he zeroed in on the level he wanted to cut. Taking the shears in hand, he gathered part of her hair in his left hand and opened the blades. Lois lightly tapped her fingers on metal frame of the chair, feeling the minutes ticking away. She heard a gasp and inwardly cringed. Please, God, whatever was going on with her hair, please don't let it grow right in front of these people.

"My shears! My lucky shears!" Armand wailed.

As he stepped back, Lois turned her head to look to see what happened. The sight of the two pieces that he was cradling caused her to panic. She had seen something like this happen before. "You know what, Armand, I would hate to spoil your reputation if for some reason something came up and we couldn't get my hair taken care of tomorrow. Why don't you just put it up and make sure it will be fine for tonight and we can work on it in the morning?" she said, trying to placate and distract the distraught man.

It took a couple of minutes for her words to register with Armand, but finally, he gently laid the pieces of his beloved shears on the counter in front of her chair and shook his head. "I just don't understand it. They've been working just fine for me for years now. I've cut absolutely everyone's hair with them. All I did was try to cut her hair and _snap_. I just don't understand it," he muttered to himself, pulling a brush absently through Lois' hair.

Sinking a little bit into the chair, Lois tried to keep a calm exterior. "I'll tell you what, Armand. I feel terrible that it had to happen on my hair. You tell me what the shears cost and I'll replace them."

He shook his head again, seemingly coming back to the matter at hand. "No, no, Lois, darling. It wasn't in any way your fault. I have had those shears since I graduated from beauty school _ages_ ago. Now, let's get you beautiful. Who knows? Maybe my hair styling will help you catch Mr. Right tonight!"

Lois didn't have to try too hard to force a giggle. Armand had met Clark a couple of times, and while he had declared him "easy on the eyes", he was also "Mr. Dead Dull". The reporters had long ago come to terms with the façade they put on for the world. Perry knew the truth about the couple, as did the most important people in their lives. That was enough for Lois and Clark.

~CK/LL~

Clark slowly angled his face so he could remove the stubble from his chin line. As he heard a knock on the door to the apartment followed by a voice calling out to him, he finished his grooming quickly and shook his head, refocusing his eyes. Switching from his laser vision to 'human' vision, he splashed some water on his face and towel dried it before answering. "In here, Oliver."

He came out of the bathroom, wearing the towel around his neck, a t-shirt, and sweat pants. "You bring the penguin suit?" he asked with a smile at the blond man.

Oliver rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I got it," he said, holding up the garment bag for Clark to see before tossing it onto the nearby bed. "Why don't you just buy one instead of renting one? You go to enough events to need it."

"Because it isn't something that…"

"I know, I know. It isn't something Clark Kent would do. He doesn't think like that. Sometimes, I miss the Clark Kent I knew before Superman appeared," Oliver admitted, dropping into a chair in the corner of the room.

Clark frowned and shrugged. "I know. But it's the price we all have to pay right now to be able to do what we do. Maybe someday I can be myself around everyone, but for the time being, I settle for being able to relax with my closest friends." He sat on the corner of the bed and yawned.

It was Oliver's turn to frown. "You ok? This might sound weird, all things considered, but you look tired, man."

Clark ran his hands over his face and shrugged lightly. He avoided eye contact at first, as if he were debating whether to confide in his friend. Finally, he looked into the other man's face and nodded slightly. "Ok, what I'm about to tell you, you can't tell anybody, especially Lois."

"Clark, dude, you're scaring me. What's going on?" the billionaire asked, leaning forward and resting his arms on his thighs.

Mimicking his posture, Clark leaned forward as well. "I think my powers might be weakening."

Oliver sucked in a breath and sat back, gesturing for him to continue. "Why would you think that? What's happening? Are you still able to do all your normal tricks?"

Glaring at him briefly, the dark haired alien nodded. "Yeah, I can still fly and lift heavy stuff without effort, but…well, yesterday, Lois jabbed me lightly in the shoulder like she usually does and…"

"And?"

"And it actually hurt a little. Not much, but I definitely felt it."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"

"N-no, that's not it," Clark stammered. He blushed slightly. His eyes flittered away again as he muttered, "And Lois is wearing me out."

There was a pause at that. "Wearing you out? I don't understand," Oliver confessed.

Clark rolled his eyes, stood up and began pacing. "It's like…like she can't get enough of me. You know, _wearing me out_," he enunciated, glancing meaningfully at the bed.

Oliver burst out laughing when he caught onto his friend's meaning. "Oh! Is that what you mean? You poor, poor man," he said without a shred of sympathy.

"It's not funny, Oliver! At first, I was…well, I was flattered, and of course I liked it, but over the last two nights…she's like the Energizer bunny." Clark glared hard at Oliver as he laughed harder. "She wants to keep going for hours and I can't seem to keep up with her!"

By this point, Oliver was wiping away tears. "I tried to warn you years ago that there weren't many men who could keep up with Lois Lane. I thought you might have a shot, you being super powered and all, but evidently…"

"And then there's this!" Clark interrupted, tugging down the collar of his t-shirt on one side.

Oliver Queen stopped laughing abruptly and then started back up again. "Is that a hickey?! Oh man! That _is_ funny, but I still don't see…"

"Oliver! Think about it! I'm not supposed to be able to _get_ hickeys!" Clark pointed out.

At that, the blond sobered instantly. The impact of what Clark was trying to tell him finally hit home. "Huh. I hadn't thought of that." He stood and moved closer to take a better look. Glancing up into Clark's face he asked, "When did she give you this? Last night?"

"No, early yesterday morning. That's why I'm worried. Even if a mark would have appeared, and that would take a lot, it should be gone by now," Clark said, letting his shirt fall back into place.

Oliver frowned and rubbed his forehead. "Well, maybe…maybe you haven't been getting enough sunlight or the Earth is at a far point from the sun or something. Didn't you say something about solar flares affecting you? Maybe something like that's going on." When the reporter's frown deepened, Oliver slapped him on the back and then shook his hand. "Or you could talk to Emil. He could run a few tests to make sure nothing else is going on. Whatever it is, it still hurts to hit you too hard."

Clark nodded. "Yeah, maybe I should talk to Emil, just in case. You won't say anything right? Not even to Chloe? Is she coming tonight by the way? Or is she in Star City?"

Sighing, Oliver shook his head. "No, she and the runt are here in town at the tower, but no, she's not coming tonight. We thought it best if I did this event solo. Too much attention on the announcement about the joint endeavor of Wayne Enterprises and Queen Industries. We're afraid we might slip and someone would see something they shouldn't."

He moved to the front door of the apartment and Clark followed. "I'm going to spend some time with them now. You want to join me? I'm sure they'd both love to see you."

Clark glanced at the clock and shook his head. "Nah. You spend some time with your family. I've got some time before I'm supposed to meet Lois and we head to the gala. I think I'll see if Emil can squeeze in an appointment."

~CK/LL~

Lois marched down the sidewalk, trying to figure out what was going on. Something wasn't right, and she didn't know what to think. Usually, she'd talk through problems she couldn't work out on her own with Clark, but she didn't want to do that with this one. She certainly didn't want to worry him. Debating, she finally whipped out her phone and hit number 3 on her speed dial.

"Hello?"

"Chlo, it's Lois. You got a minute? I need your advice on something."

"Sure. You ok? You sound a little freaked out," Chloe's voice came over the line.

Lois paused in her stride as a hot dog cart caught her attention. Shaking her head at herself, she forced her feet to keep moving. "I _am_ a little freaked out." She went on to tell her about the incident with Armand's shears and her weird hair growth. "Then, I went to get my nails done and noticed that they also have grown a good bit since I cut them two days ago. The nail file broke when they tried to use it on my nails, and when I tapped on the glass counter to show them what color polish I wanted, it shattered!"

"The glass shattered? Whoa! You taking some pills or something? Sounds like you've got some strong nails there, cuz," Chloe chuckled.

"You think?! I would even say maybe _super_ strong nails," Lois pointed out.

Chloe frowned. It did sound strange. Then her son caught her attention and she smiled at him. "You know, Lois, this could be something serious. Have you had anything else weird happen lately?"

Lois thought about it for a moment but shrugged, not thinking about the fact that Chloe couldn't see her. "I don't know." She sucked in a breath and bit her lip, stopping in her tracks. "Oh, Chlo, you don't think this could have something to do with long term exposure to Clark do you? Like some weird…" she paused and looked around before adding, "side effect?"

Trying not to laugh, Chloe waved at the little boy and grinned when he waved back. "I don't know, Lo, maybe you should talk to Emil Hamilton. He might be able to tell you what's going on."

Nodding, Lois glanced at her watch. "Yeah, maybe I'll do that. Since I wasn't able to get my nails done, I'm running a little ahead of schedule. Maybe he can squeeze me in before I have to be ready to meet Clark." Trying to wave down a taxi, Lois pleaded with her cousin, "Please, Chloe, whatever is going on, I want to be the one to tell Clark and anyone else who might need to know. Promise me you won't say anything to anybody."

"Oh, my lips are sealed, dear cousin. Let me know what Dr. Hamilton says," Chloe said. Hanging up, she burst into laughter.

~CK/LL~

Emil was baffled. When Irene, his receptionist, told him that "a Mr. Kent" was there to see him, he immediately had had him put into an exam room. But then, not ten minutes later, Irene informed him that "that famous reporter, Lois Lane" was here to see him too. He came out to greet Lois, and when she asked to talk to him in private, he shrugged and led her to his office. He started to ask if she knew that Clark was in the office as well, but something held him back. For once, he didn't think the couple had come in separately for appearances. If that were the case, they would have come in together and said they were working on a story.

Deciding to question them separately, Emil had gone back to Clark and asked what had brought the hero to his office. Upon learning that it was for a possible medical problem, he had told Clark to remain where he was, and Emil would be with him as soon as he could. When Lois too informed him that she was here for a possible medical issue, Emil told Irene to reschedule all his remaining patients for the day and to go home. Something wasn't right with these two, and he was somewhat alarmed that both had come to him on the same day.

After everyone else was gone, Emil moved Lois into the exam room across from Clark and closed the door, telling her he would return shortly. He rejoined Clark, firmly closing the door. "Now, then, Clark what seems to be the problem? It must be something a bit disturbing for you to just drop in," he asked, adjusting his glasses.

"I'm sorry to intrude on your day, but it might be important, and if there is something going on, I wanted to find out as soon as possible," Clark apologized.

Emil waved away his apology and listened intently as Clark went through his list of symptoms, frowning slightly at times but not interrupting. Finally, when Clark finished speaking, he grunted before asking, "So you're saying that you only noticed these 'symptoms' in the last few days?"

Clark nodded.

"And what about your speed? Still just as fast? Any problems slowing down or stopping? Any drops in altitude while flying or problems taking off or landing?"

Clark replied in the negative.

"Still impervious to bullets and other weaponry?" When Clark nodded again, Emil hummed in thought. Mentally, he reviewed the problems that Clark had listed for him. Finding a common element, he raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Um, I want to check something, Clark, give me a couple of minutes to look at some of your personal records I keep hidden away."

Leaving the room, he crossed the hall and sat down on a stool to speak to Lois, who had been pacing when he walked in. "Lois, this was a surprise. It must be something somewhat serious for you to just come right to me. What's going on?"

Lois blurted out the list of things that had been happening to her lately, telling him everything that had happened to her that day and anything else she could think of that seemed odd, down to the smallest details. As she wrapped up her recounting, she sniffed the air around him. "Did you have pastrami for lunch?" She sniffed again and added, "With Dijon mustard and pickles on rye bread?"

Emil jerked in surprise. "Yes, as a matter of fact, that's exactly what I had for lunch." As a thought struck him, he smiled. "So let's see, at the heart of the matter, what we have is really strong nails, fast growing and above average strong hair, a heightened sense of smell and better than normal strength. Does that about cover it?" Lois nodded. "And how's your appetite been recently?"

Lois tilted her head in thought. "Well, except for a touch of that stomach bug the other week, I've been fine. Actually, I've been better than fine. I've been eating like a horse lately. Although Clark might debate with me about whether that's a normal thing or not. Why do you ask?"

Chuckling, Emil stood up and went over to one of the drawers. Pulling out a cup, he held it out to Lois. "Do me a favor and give me a urine sample, Lois. I think it might prove to be a good place to start. The bathroom is…"

"Down the hall on the right. I remember. I just don't understand why…" Lois interrupted puzzled.

"Just humor me," Emil told her.

She did as he asked, returning quickly and handing him the cup with a paper towel. Emil took it out of the room with him and went to the room where a few lab tests were done on the premises. When he had completed his test, he smiled broadly and shook his head. "Well, well, well," he said to himself.

He walked to the exam room where Clark had been waiting and opened the door wide. "Mr. Kent, will you come with me please?"

Clark looked confused but asked no questions as he followed the doctor across the hall. When he saw Lois, however, both reporters froze. "What are you doing here?" they asked simultaneously. Both hemmed and hawed around until Emil interrupted.

"Folks, perhaps you should both sit down," he told them. After they had done so, he smiled at them. "I think you are both here for the same reason, though the symptoms are somewhat different for each of you."

The couple looked at each other in alarm. Taking Lois' hand in his, Clark gave her a questioning look that she reflected back at him. They turned back to Emil when he cleared his throat. "I believe I know what condition is affecting you, and it will adjust itself in a few months."

"You mean I'm going to be back to normal in a few months?" Clark asked.

"Normal? Clark, what's wrong with you?" Lois asked.

"Nothing's _wrong_ with your husband, Ms. Lane, but I'm not sure things will ever be _normal_ for you again, Clark," the doctor answered for them.

Clark frowned until he realized the same common element that Emil had earlier. "It's Lois! Something is wrong with her, isn't it? All of the things going on with me were about her!"

Lois looked like she was ready to scream or cry. "What?! What's going on? What am I doing to you? What's wrong with me?"

Clark patted her hand gently, but Emil spoke again before he could say anything. "I believe, my friends…that you are expecting. At least, that's what the test told me," the doctor announced with a smile for them.

It took a minute for his words to register. Clark blanched, but Lois was suddenly all smiles. "Oh my god! We're pregnant?! I'm going to have a baby?! That is so…"

"Scary!" Clark blurted out. Then, seeing the shock and hurt on Lois' face, he quickly back-pedaled. "I mean, in a good way, but it is scary! We weren't even sure it was possible and now…" He tilted his head as his hearing picked up something it hadn't before, another heartbeat coming from Lois. His eyes filled with tears, and he reached to place a hand gently over her abdomen. "Oh wow! I can hear it. I didn't know to listen for it before, but now…it's amazing!"

Lois cleared her throat and Clark looked up into her face. "There's a baby in there, Lo. My…no, _our_ baby is growing inside you! It's a miracle."

Now it was Lois' turn to turn blanch. Suddenly it was too real. "A baby! Oh, Clark, what are we going to do?! As far as the public knows, we're both single and all our co-workers think I lust after Superman…" When Clark grinned at that, she rolled her eyes. "Ok, so I _do_ lust after Superman, but what are we going to tell everybody? It's not like I'm going to be able to hide this!" She paled a little more. "And what are we going to do when it starts doing _super_ things?! I just don't know…"

Clark cut her off mid-sentence with a heart-stopping kiss. The glazed look in her eyes hadn't even faded before he kissed her again. Pulling back, he rested his forehead to hers. "None of that matters. All that matters is that we're together and we're having a baby. I love you, and nothing's going to mess with Lois and Clark, right?"

Lois smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck, sighing softly. "They'd better not." Her eyes filled with happy tears. "I love you too, my man of steel. And you're right. This is going to be ok. As long as we're together, we'll be just fine."

~CK/LL~

Lois took a deep breath and blew it out of her mouth before turning to Clark. "Do my boobs look bigger to you?" she demanded.

The cab swerved to the right, and she glared at the back of taxi driver's head. He quickly corrected his course, glanced in his rearview mirror and then snapped his eyes back to the road. "Stupid squirrels," he muttered. His mumbled excuse lost some of its conviction, however, due to his reddening face.

Clark cleared his throat and leaned closer to her. "Lois, you really should be more careful about saying things like that when we're not alone!" he gently scolded. Then his eyes dropped involuntarily to her chest. Biting back a grin he forced his eyes to meet hers. When her eyes narrowed, he knew his next comment might end up costing him. "I'm not seeing anything to complain about," he said in a soft, husky voice.

Lois glared at him slightly and jabbed him in the shoulder. He winced and rubbed at the spot she had hit, and she smiled in satisfaction. "Just remember, bub, that for right now I _can_ hurt you!" Then she frowned as her eyes dropped to her chest. "Seriously, though. I don't look indecent now, do I? I don't want to become gossip fodder because of all the changes going on with me. It's just happening so fast!"

Placing a finger under her chin, Clark forced her to look up at him and into his eyes. The love that shone from them warmed her soul, and she wondered again how she had gotten so lucky to find this kind of love. "You look beautiful, Lois Lane, and I'm the luckiest man on Earth because you chose me," he whispered. When she blushed, he gave her a somewhat sad smile. "I know I haven't been able to show the world just how much you mean to me, but I hope that you never doubt it."

Tears glazed her eyes as she shook her head. "Not for one second. You show me in a million ways just how much you love me. I hate that I have to treat _you_ so badly sometimes."

Before they both could forget where they were, Clark pulled back and smiled at her, yanking on his collar. "Well, looks like we're almost there," he said in his usual Clark Kent tone. Lois gave a typical Lane response, but in the dark back seat of the cab, they gripped each other's hand tightly.

~CK/LL~

Bruce Wayne wore his usual bored expression as Lois made her way over to greet him. "Mr. Wayne, it's a pleasure to see you again," she said, holding out her hand for him to shake.

With his typical flare, Bruce took her hand in his, turned it over and bowed to her, placing an air kiss onto the back of her hand, his lips never quite touching her skin. Lois bit back a grin. He knew better than to make this anything more than an act. Clark had set him straight within the first sixty seconds they had met.

"Ah, Ms. Lane! It's always a pleasure to see you. May I say you are positively _glowing_ this evening," he said, winking at her.

Lois gasped. "Wh-what do you mean by that?!" she demanded.

Pausing as he straightened, he looked into her eyes and raised an eyebrow in question. "Nothing more than I think you look quite exquisite tonight, Lois. What else could I have meant?" he asked.

Rushing to recover, Lois plastered a smile on and tried to fight the flush rising into her cheeks. "Oh…well, thanks. You're looking well yourself."

Bruce's puzzled look took on an amused overtone and he smiled warmly. "Save me a dance later, and I'll be sure to give you a statement for my favorite Metropolis paper."

"I'll do that," she answered and moved away as someone else walked up to greet the billionaire.

Glancing about the room, she noticed Clark on the far side, speaking with Oliver. Their stance would give people who did not know them well the impression that it was purely business, but Lois knew better. The two were in a deeper discussion than just the reason for this gala event. Lois prayed that Clark didn't spill the beans here. There was no telling how Oliver would react, and there was no possible way he _wouldn't_ react. She floated over to the refreshment tables where a server offered her a glass of champagne.

"Oh, no thanks," she said breezily. "I think I'll just have a soda if you have one, tea if you don't."

"Lois Lane refusing a drink? That's not like the reporter I know," came an amused female voice from behind Lois.

Whipping around, she grinned and flung herself at the other woman. "Chloe! What are you doing here? A little bird passed on to me that you weren't going to be here tonight."

Chloe chuckled and hugged her cousin fiercely. "Yeah, well, that was the original plan, but after our discussion earlier, I wanted to come and verify my suspicions. So did you talk to the good Dr. Hamilton about all your symptoms?" she asked, a happy glint in her eyes.

Lois shook her finger at her. "You knew, didn't you? You knew what was going on and didn't breathe a word!" she accused.

The blonde woman shrugged. "I couldn't know for sure, and I know you guys weren't sure it was even possible so…I decided not to get your hopes up. We _are_ talking about the same thing, aren't we?"

Lois smiled, absently brushing a hand over her abdomen. "Yeah, my physical changes will manifest themselves in a few months."

Chloe pulled Lois in for another hug and whispered in her ear. "Congrats, cuz. I can't think of two people who would make better parents."

"Well, I don't know about that, but we're certainly going to do our best," Lois said.

"Do you know how you're going to handle this publicly yet?"

Sighing, Lois shook her head and bit her lip. "No. We're not even sure how this will progress yet. Emil wants to run a few tests and maybe even talk to…you-know-who up north. We'll just have to figure it all out after that."

"Whatever you decide, you know we'll be behind you one hundred percent," Oliver said, coming up to the ladies with Clark.

Lois smacked Clark in the chest with the back of her hand. "You told him? Here?"

Oliver grinned. "My fault. After the discussion we had earlier, I wouldn't leave him alone until he told me what was going on." Leaning in, he placed a kiss on Lois' cheek. "Congratulations, Legs," he whispered in her ear before stepping back. His eyes twinkled at his wife as he turned to her. "Ms. Sullivan, this is indeed a pleasant surprise. I didn't know you were coming tonight."

Chloe smiled up at her husband. "I wasn't sure I would make it, but I wanted to see Lois." Oliver raised an eyebrow in question at her and Chloe nodded. "Yeah, I know," she said softly. Then she shook Clark's hand, not wanting to hug him at an event like this and draw attention to their little group. "It's good to see you, Clark." The dark haired man reciprocated the greeting. Laughing, Chloe told him, "You know, when Lois called me earlier in a bit of a panic, she wondered…ooof."

Her sentence was cut off by one of Lois' elbows in her side. Reddening slightly, Lois apologized. "Sorry, Chlo. I forget I'm a little stronger right now. I didn't hurt you did I?"

Rubbing her bruised ribs, Chloe shook her head. "Nothing too serious I don't think. Guess we'll all be suffering from your side effects from your long term exposure to Clark Kent," she said with a sly grin.

Oliver burst into laughter. Lois rolled her eyes and glared at her cousin and then looked at Clark, a small apology in her eyes. Clark just grinned back. "Side effects, huh?"

"Well…"

When she couldn't think of anything else to say, Clark's grin widened. He made a move that to anyone who might have been watching their little group would have looked like a clumsy, signature Clark Kent move, but in reality, it brought him closer to his wife's ear. "Oh, I plan on exposing you to me for a very long time to come…in more ways than one, so maybe you should prepare for more _side effects_," he told her.

Hiding the delicious shiver that went down her spine, Lois mock glared at him. "Clark Kent, I have one thing to say to you." He raised an eyebrow in question and she growled out low, "Bring it on."

**A/N:** I've never been pregnant myself but this was based on things I had been told over the years. Hope you enjoyed it!


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